Table of Contents
BEST IELTS Academic Reading Test 493
IELTS ACADEMIC READING TEST 493 – PASSAGE – 1
IELTS ACADEMIC READING TEST – 493
READING PASSAGE – 1
Gritting Britain’s Roads
In winter, plunging temperatures combined with a notoriously high chance of rain cause chaos on Britain’s roads. When rain water freezes on the road surface it forms a layer of ice that is extremely treacherous to drive over. The Highway Code warns drivers that in rainy weather, stopping distances are twice the length they would be on dry roads. On ice, this stopping distance becomes ten times greater. Similarly, in heavy snow, most road vehicles struggle to grip adequately, making steering and braking less controlled, causing skidding and leading to many road accidents. In 2003, the 1980 Highways Act was amended to place a legal obligation on local councils to keep their roads clear.
The primary way that ice is prevented from forming on Britain’s roads is through the use of what is commonly known as ‘salt’ or ‘grit’. This brownish substance is dispersed along roads and motorways in cold weather by vehicles known as ‘salt spreaders’ or ‘gritters’, which are large trucks and Lorries equipped with grit dispersing apparatus. Prior to the 1970s, these trucks would have dumped the grit into a pile in the middle of the road, which would then have been spread evenly across the tarmac by men. Now, however, grit trucks distribute the grit evenly on the road through the use of an impeller which is attached to a hydraulic drive.
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As its names suggest, the ‘grit’ or ‘salt’ used on roads is made up of a mixture of crushed grit and rock salt. It is the rock salt which is the main active ingredient, the grit being there simply to aid traction and tyre grip on the asphalt. The rock salt works by dissolving into road surface water, lowering the freezing point and preventing ice forming.
Rock salt can effectively prevent ice from forming at temperatures as low as -5°C, but its effectiveness drops off when temperatures decrease further. Any lower than -10°C and the rock salt has no effect at all. Not only that, the rock salt needs to be crushed by vehicle tyres into smaller particles to allow it to dissolve into the moisture on the road. It is this saline slush which prevents freezing, and stops snow from setting onto the roads.
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The UK has two major rock salt mines, one in Cleveland, Country Antrim, and the other in Winsford, Cheshire; although in times of need, rock salt is also imported from there continent. Upwards of 30,000 tonnes of rock salt can be mined from the UK salt mines per week. In total, over 2 million tonnes of salt is used on Britain’s roads every year, at a cost of some £150 million. Local councils now stockpile rock salt throughout the year in preparation for the freezing temperatures during the coldest months.
Councils install weather monitoring stations across their region, and also keep an eye on meteorology reports in order to be aware of current and future drops in temperature. The monitoring carried out must be precise and detailed, because the timing of gritting is crucial. The main aim of gritting is to prevent freezing in order to prevent road accidents. The rock salt itself cannot melt snow or ice after it has formed, so it has to be spread before water freezes or snow falls. This means that if a stretch of road is gritted too early the road will still be dry, and the rock salt will just be blown away by air drafts from passing vehicles.
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If the road is gritted too late, snow, rain or hail may have already frozen onto the road, creating dangerous driving conditions. As the rock salt itself would still need to be crushed by tyres to allow it to dissolve, salting roads which are already too dangerous to drive on is significantly less effective at not only dissolving the ice already on the road, but also from preventing more ice from forming.
Gritting late in the day can also lead to gritting machines getting caught up in rush hour traffic, delaying the vehicles and preventing them reaching all the routes they need to spread grit over. Not only this, the rock salt on the roads needs to be topped up throughout the day as it dilutes which decreases its effectiveness. A London borough can use up to 85 tonnes of rock salt in a single day over the course of four or more gritting runs.
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The US is experiencing a further issue caused by using grit on roads. In the states in America which typically experience colder weather, large amounts of rock salt are used each year in order to prevent the roads from becoming dangerously icy. Much of this salt is carried into the local environment, where some eventually finds its way into lakes, streams and rivers. Over the years, the saline (or salt) levels in these waters has increased, and continues to increase.
Over all lakes in the US, the concentration of chloride ranged from 0.18 to 240 milligrams per litre. This is still quite low (seawater, for instance, contains around 35 grams of chloride per litre), but the levels of salt are certainly rising. Biologists are concerned that if bodies of water continue to become saltier, freshwater fish and amphibians will steadily be replaced by saltwater animals, which could cause havoc to ecosystems.
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In the UK, there is less knowledge concerning the effects of grit on our local wildlife. So far, no populations seem to have been directly affected by the increase in salt caused by gritting. Still, gritting remains an imperfect precaution against ice roads, though at the moment, it remains the best solution to an impractical issue.
Questions 1-4
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer.
ATTENTION: ROAD SAFETY
Please familiarise yourself with the following road safety precautions for icy weather:
– Ensure windows and mirrors are adequately defrosted to allow complete visibility before driving.
– Be aware that while driving on ice, normal stopping distances become 1…………… greater.
– In heavy snow, reduced ability to grip creates a lack of control on roads, which can lead to 2……………. and an increased risk of collision.
– Make sure your roads are safe, local councils have a 3…………. to ensure their roads are free of ice and snow.
– Salt spreaders will prevent ice from forming by 4……………… grit on the roads.
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Questions 5-14
Complete the sentences below.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
5. Crushed grit is used in road salt in order to ……………………… to prevent tyres from skidding.
6. Rock salt is totally ineffective at combating ice at temperatures below ……………………… .
7. Rock salt needs to ……………………… in order to be effective. This generally happens when it is driven over by vehicle tyres.
8. When rock salt supplies in the UK are low, ……………………… can provide further supplies.
9. More than ……………………… of rock salt is used each year, costing local councils hundreds of millions.
10. ……………………… can warn councils of impending drops in temperature, alongside the use of weather monitoring stations.
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11. If a road is gritted too early, rock salt can be propelled off the road by ……………………… from cars.
12. If a road is gritted after ice has already frozen onto the road, it’s defrosting abilities are much ………………………
13. The amount of ………………………in America’s lakes is rising, though at the moment it does not pose a serious risk to the environment.
14. Though gritting roads is the most common solution to icy roads in the UK, it can be described as an ………………………
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ANSWERS
1. TEN TIMES
2. SKIDDING
3. LEGAL OBJECTION
4. DISPERSING
5. AID TRACKING
6. -10OC
7. DISSOLVE
8. THE CONTINENT
9. 2 MILLION TONNES
10. METEOROLOGY REPORTS
11. AIR DRAFTS
12. LESS EFFECTIVE
13. CHLORIDE
14. IMPERFECT PRECAUTION
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